Classification of Healthcare-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia: Influence of Different Definitions on Prevalence, Patient Characteristics, and Outcome.

We investigated whether different definitions of healthcare-associated infection influenced the prevalence, characteristics, and mortality of patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. With different definitions, the proportion of patients classified as having healthcare-associated S. aureus bacteremia varied substantially and the distribution of patient characteristics was influenced, whereas 30-day mortality remained robust.